So let's dive into the basics of clean eating and what that means. In a nutshell, if your great great grandparents didn't eat it, neither should you! It means sticking to whole foods and away from foods that have been overly processed with additives that are artificial and/or chemicals. I encourage everyone to go through their pantry and look at the labels of their food products and see how much of what you have has an ingredient that you do not recognize. Now Google those ingredients and see what they are. Chances are they're artificial.
Why is artificial so bad? Because it is man-made with chemicals and are poisonous to our body. Our bodies have a hard time metabolizing these products because the body does not recognize them. What it does recognize is whole foods. Take the example of banana chips and a real banana. The banana chips may advertise only 80 calories, but looking at the ingredients you see an artificial sweetener, such as Splenda. A real banana has 120 calories. Which do you go for? If you're trying to lose weight your instinct wants to go for the least amount of calories right? But this is wrong. The real banana is actually what you want to go for because the body immediately recognizes it and knows how to metabolize it. Do you want to know where the artificial sweeteners go? Your body stores it. What happens to our bodies when we store things? We gain weight. This is the exact opposite of what we're trying to accomplish.
Ok, so now we're on the track of looking for whole foods, but do we choose any produce? No. Reason being is that most have been contaminated with pesticides and I believe the answer to why that's bad is in the name. Again, it is poison. We need to be looking for organic and pesticide free. Same with your meat. You don't want to go for any meat, you want the meat that has not been treated with hormones or antibiotics. The best thing to do is go for organic and free range. Right on the label it will tell you that there is no added hormones or antibiotics.
Reading labels can be really intimidating at first but really the most important thing when you're looking at one is that whatever your buying should be the first ingredient on the label. So let's take an example of apple chips. The first ingredient should be apples. Bread is a good one as well. So if you're buying whole wheat bread then the label should list the first ingredient as whole wheat and unrefined.
We're going to dive into reading labels more later, but for now I want to provide you with a shopping list of items that are considered clean eating, so you have an idea of what you should be buying. The next post I will provide you with information on how to read labels.
Shopping List:
Proteins:
Lean Beef
Chicken
Turkey
Fish
Ground turkey
Game meats- bison, ostrich, deer, buffalo
Free range eggs- I prefer large brown
Egg whites
Shellfish
Shakeology
Tempeh
Tofu
Tuna, canned in water
Turkey bacon
Lean pork
Carbohydrates:
Sweet potato/yams
Quinoa
Beans (kidney, black and garbanzo)
Lentils
Edamame
Peas
Brown/wild rice
Red potato
Corn on the cob
Buckwheat
Barley
Rolled/steel cut oats
Whole grain pasta, bread, pita or tortilla
Corn tortilla
Ezekiel bread, pasta, tortillas
Healthy Fats:
Avocado
Nuts
Hummus
Coconut milk
Natural peanut butter
Dairy:
Feta cheese
Goat cheese
Parmesan
Greek yogurt
Non fat yogurt
Ricotta cheese, light
Cottage cheese, 2%
Light string cheese
Veggies:
Brussel sprouts
Kale
Spinach
Collard greens
Broccoli
Asparagus
Beets
Tomatoes
Squash
Green beans
Cauliflower
Eggplant
Snow peas
Cabbage
Lettuce (not iceberg)
Alfalfa sprouts
Mushrooms
Radishes
Onions
Bell peppers
Carrots
Cucumbers
Celery
Garlic
Spaghetti squash
Zucchini
Pumpkin
Fruits:
Berries (raspberries, blackberries, blueberries, strawberries)
Watermelon
Cantaloupe
Oranges
Tangerines
Apples
Apricots
Grapefruit
Grapes
Cherries
Kiwi
Mango
Pears
Nectarines
Bananas
Pineapple
Papaya
Figs
Honeydew
Lime/Lemon
Oils and Seeds:
Pumpkin seeds
Sunflower seeds
Sesame seeds
Flaxseeds
Coconut oil
Olive oil
Chia seeds
Flax oil
Drinks:
WATER!!!!! I carry around a 32 oz water bottle and drink 4 a day!
Almond milk
Rice milk
Hemp milk
Coconut milk/water
Fruit infused water
Sugar:
Agave nectar
Molasses (organic)
Organic cane sugar
Organic coconut sugar
Raw honey
Stevia drops
Condiments/seasonings:
Herbs
Liquid amino acids
Vinegar (red wine, Balsamic, apple cider, rice)
Chili paste
Mustard
Extracts (vanilla, almond, caramel)
Low-sodium chicken/vegetable broth
Pepper
Himalayan salt
Sea salt
*Salts in moderation and read all labels. Make sure to look for no MSG, non GMO, and no added sugar or salt or aspartame.
Now you have a list of many different items to choose from that are considered clean eating items. Go out and shop! See you next time!
Busy Mom on a FIT Mission
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Wednesday, January 28, 2015
Thursday, January 15, 2015
Motivation
When you're down, out of shape, and depressed, getting up and motivated is the last thing on your mind! Making that decision to make a change and committing is probably the hardest step. To be honest even during the journey it can be really rough. There may be many times you want to give up!
I think one of the things that I use as motivation is the fact I don't want to go back to my starting point! That was a lot more rough than just getting up and powering through the workout. The great part of challenge groups or having success partners is that you motivate each other, vent to each other, support each other through the hard times and hold each other accountable.
Even if you're at rock bottom, there's still a chance to turn your life around. It's never too late, you're worth it. On this blog and during this journey together, we will motivate each other, share recipes and tips. The most important thing to tell yourself when you're starting out is that this is a lifestyle change and NOT a diet.
When you look at diets it's really hard to stick with them. At least when I've tried them, I would start them and they always ended up failing. I would inevitably end up back at square one. It's crucial to change your habits, because if they were working then we wouldn't be here right?!? Creating a foundation of good health for you and your family will not only benefit you, but your loved ones. You have to have that clean slate to refresh and start over.
I am New Mexican and we LOVE food, so it's also important to remember that you don't have to give up the food you love. You can modify them to be healthier for you. For instance, we make our own salsa with fresh ingredients and I learned to quarter corn tortillas and bake them until golden brown so I can still have my chips and salsa. I will dive more into clean eating later, but for now my main goal is show you that clean eating does not mean you have to give up what you love, you're just making it that much better!
Making lifestyle changes does not need to scary or impossible. It is possible to find a balance so that you don't feel like you're on a diet.
So let's get started! Next we'll start diving into clean eating!
I think one of the things that I use as motivation is the fact I don't want to go back to my starting point! That was a lot more rough than just getting up and powering through the workout. The great part of challenge groups or having success partners is that you motivate each other, vent to each other, support each other through the hard times and hold each other accountable.
Even if you're at rock bottom, there's still a chance to turn your life around. It's never too late, you're worth it. On this blog and during this journey together, we will motivate each other, share recipes and tips. The most important thing to tell yourself when you're starting out is that this is a lifestyle change and NOT a diet.
When you look at diets it's really hard to stick with them. At least when I've tried them, I would start them and they always ended up failing. I would inevitably end up back at square one. It's crucial to change your habits, because if they were working then we wouldn't be here right?!? Creating a foundation of good health for you and your family will not only benefit you, but your loved ones. You have to have that clean slate to refresh and start over.
I am New Mexican and we LOVE food, so it's also important to remember that you don't have to give up the food you love. You can modify them to be healthier for you. For instance, we make our own salsa with fresh ingredients and I learned to quarter corn tortillas and bake them until golden brown so I can still have my chips and salsa. I will dive more into clean eating later, but for now my main goal is show you that clean eating does not mean you have to give up what you love, you're just making it that much better!
Making lifestyle changes does not need to scary or impossible. It is possible to find a balance so that you don't feel like you're on a diet.
So let's get started! Next we'll start diving into clean eating!
Welcome to my health and fitness blog!
My name is Santana and I am a mother, wife, health & fitness coach, photographer and nursing student! Whew! This blog is dedicated to my journey to health. No, not skinny, health. I want to be healthy for my daughters, so that I can run with them and swing them around, but most importantly, to see them grow up!
Before we dive into that, let me back up a little. I was always a thin child and stayed thin through high school, and into my early twenties. At 24 years old I met my husband, we moved pretty fast and quickly got married and started our family. It was a hectic time! We were trying to get used to each other, trying to get used to marriage and then we added a baby to the picture. We were so happy, but so overwhelmed! I instantly could see that losing that baby weight would be hard. Everyone said that breastfeeding would help...ummm not for me! Life was chaos and we were so exhausted just trying to keep up. Needless to say, we didn't eat the best. My husband and I love to cook, but we didn't make the best choices. Then just when our first daughter came around to almost 23 months, we had another girl! We were so happy that our family was growing, but I hadn't lost the weight from the first one! I gained the appropriate amount during my pregnancies, but it seemed like after was more the problem.
Four months later my husband got a job offer in Arizona and with the lack of work in our hometown of Albuquerque, we were forced to move. We unfortunately had to move into an apartment complex, but the pro about that is that it had a GYM! Whoohoo! We started working out and watching what we were eating, and I started to finally lose weight! I was so stoked! Things were finally looking up. We were in AZ for about 8 months and then we had to move AGAIN! This time my husband was transferred to Colorado. We moved to a tiny town in southern Colorado, called Walsenburg. I mean TINY! We actually didn't even live in town, we lived just outside it. We had no family or friends. My husband and I found ourselves at home a lot. Which is fine, you can find many things to do at home! I had little workouts that I'd do and we bought an elliptical. My husband and I decided that I should look into going back to school. I wanted to pursue nursing and still do photography on the side. The closest school was 45 minutes away! Ugh. Childcare was not easy to come by so I decided to do online classes. So now I'm exercising my brain, but not my body so much. I spent so much time on the couch doing assignments and studying.
After finishing my prerequisites I was so excited because I could finally go to school on campus, we had a friend to help with the girls and I thought I'll lose that weight again. Not so much! Nursing school is no joke! I was studying so much I never seemed to be able to get off that couch! My 30th birthday was coming up and I made a goal to get back into shape, but with the amount of school work I had to do, it just seemed to be impossible. And we decided to make another change...MOVE AGAIN. We wanted to move to a better place for our kids to grow up and there is another beautiful town north of where we were called Rye. Closer to the city, better schools, more to do and just all around a better deal. We bought a beautiful house, I switched schools, and my oldest was about to start kindergarten. This program that I transferred to goes at a slower pace and I was going to take advantage of that! We got settled in and I was settling in with my new school. Life seemed to be falling into place.
I felt like I should be happy, but I wasn't. WHY? I have a beautiful family, home and life was going great! I realized it had everything to do with ME. I wasn't happy with myself. I realized 31 was coming and my original goal had passed me by. I started doing research. I told myself, I may not get to my goal by 31 years old, but I could be in the process and that would be major progress. I Googled like my life depended on it! On Facebook I noticed there were a lot of new coaches that kept popping up in my news feed. I found a mom that had the story that tugged at my heart, because I felt the same way she did, but she made it to her goal and looked incredible! I wanted her help so badly and started talking to her. She told me about joining a challenge group and I had never heard of one, but was desperate to try. I was all ready to sign up then in our brand new house we got a roof leak! Seriously?!? Seriously.
I couldn't spend the money. We were so stressed as it was and now the roof needed to be fixed. When is that ever cheap?!? So I put my weight loss on hold...AGAIN! Then after a couple months things were getting to be normal and calming down. My 31st birthday was coming up really soon and I decided that with the birthday money I usually always get, I'm making a change! I started following another coach who also happened to be an RN. I was so excited to talk to her because to be honest I was skeptical. She did the same program as the other coach but this was a health care professional. I felt like I could really ask her about my concerns and boy could she answer them! I was feeling so stoked again.
I joined one of her challenge groups with that birthday money and soaked it all in. I finally was seeing results again. This time I felt way more confident, because of all the education I was getting. Two weeks into it and my coach asked if I would like to join her team and help others. I was so happy, nervous and excited all at once! I decided what the heck! I love to help people, it could help me stay accountable and I know if I loved this program so much I gotta spread the word. I know there are other people out there that feel the exact same way. My mission to get FIT is better achieved with others and I'm searching for anyone willing to take on this mission with me.
Before we dive into that, let me back up a little. I was always a thin child and stayed thin through high school, and into my early twenties. At 24 years old I met my husband, we moved pretty fast and quickly got married and started our family. It was a hectic time! We were trying to get used to each other, trying to get used to marriage and then we added a baby to the picture. We were so happy, but so overwhelmed! I instantly could see that losing that baby weight would be hard. Everyone said that breastfeeding would help...ummm not for me! Life was chaos and we were so exhausted just trying to keep up. Needless to say, we didn't eat the best. My husband and I love to cook, but we didn't make the best choices. Then just when our first daughter came around to almost 23 months, we had another girl! We were so happy that our family was growing, but I hadn't lost the weight from the first one! I gained the appropriate amount during my pregnancies, but it seemed like after was more the problem.
Four months later my husband got a job offer in Arizona and with the lack of work in our hometown of Albuquerque, we were forced to move. We unfortunately had to move into an apartment complex, but the pro about that is that it had a GYM! Whoohoo! We started working out and watching what we were eating, and I started to finally lose weight! I was so stoked! Things were finally looking up. We were in AZ for about 8 months and then we had to move AGAIN! This time my husband was transferred to Colorado. We moved to a tiny town in southern Colorado, called Walsenburg. I mean TINY! We actually didn't even live in town, we lived just outside it. We had no family or friends. My husband and I found ourselves at home a lot. Which is fine, you can find many things to do at home! I had little workouts that I'd do and we bought an elliptical. My husband and I decided that I should look into going back to school. I wanted to pursue nursing and still do photography on the side. The closest school was 45 minutes away! Ugh. Childcare was not easy to come by so I decided to do online classes. So now I'm exercising my brain, but not my body so much. I spent so much time on the couch doing assignments and studying.
After finishing my prerequisites I was so excited because I could finally go to school on campus, we had a friend to help with the girls and I thought I'll lose that weight again. Not so much! Nursing school is no joke! I was studying so much I never seemed to be able to get off that couch! My 30th birthday was coming up and I made a goal to get back into shape, but with the amount of school work I had to do, it just seemed to be impossible. And we decided to make another change...MOVE AGAIN. We wanted to move to a better place for our kids to grow up and there is another beautiful town north of where we were called Rye. Closer to the city, better schools, more to do and just all around a better deal. We bought a beautiful house, I switched schools, and my oldest was about to start kindergarten. This program that I transferred to goes at a slower pace and I was going to take advantage of that! We got settled in and I was settling in with my new school. Life seemed to be falling into place.
I felt like I should be happy, but I wasn't. WHY? I have a beautiful family, home and life was going great! I realized it had everything to do with ME. I wasn't happy with myself. I realized 31 was coming and my original goal had passed me by. I started doing research. I told myself, I may not get to my goal by 31 years old, but I could be in the process and that would be major progress. I Googled like my life depended on it! On Facebook I noticed there were a lot of new coaches that kept popping up in my news feed. I found a mom that had the story that tugged at my heart, because I felt the same way she did, but she made it to her goal and looked incredible! I wanted her help so badly and started talking to her. She told me about joining a challenge group and I had never heard of one, but was desperate to try. I was all ready to sign up then in our brand new house we got a roof leak! Seriously?!? Seriously.
I couldn't spend the money. We were so stressed as it was and now the roof needed to be fixed. When is that ever cheap?!? So I put my weight loss on hold...AGAIN! Then after a couple months things were getting to be normal and calming down. My 31st birthday was coming up really soon and I decided that with the birthday money I usually always get, I'm making a change! I started following another coach who also happened to be an RN. I was so excited to talk to her because to be honest I was skeptical. She did the same program as the other coach but this was a health care professional. I felt like I could really ask her about my concerns and boy could she answer them! I was feeling so stoked again.
I joined one of her challenge groups with that birthday money and soaked it all in. I finally was seeing results again. This time I felt way more confident, because of all the education I was getting. Two weeks into it and my coach asked if I would like to join her team and help others. I was so happy, nervous and excited all at once! I decided what the heck! I love to help people, it could help me stay accountable and I know if I loved this program so much I gotta spread the word. I know there are other people out there that feel the exact same way. My mission to get FIT is better achieved with others and I'm searching for anyone willing to take on this mission with me.
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